This invention relates to an attachment for a sewing machine, particularly a presser foot structure which includes a bifurcated skid and guide wheel which engage oncoming plies of material being moved to the needle of the sewing machine.
In the production of garments and similar objects, it is common practice to match two or more plies of material together and sew through the layers of material to form a seam. When functions of this type are performed on an industrial basis, wherein large numbers of garments are produced in an assembly line, it is important for the sewing machine operator to have equipment that assists in aligning the plies of material and that properly feeds the plies of material to the sewing station without direct operator control, so that the sewing function is expedited. It is important that the equipment used in the sewing function not only properly aligns the plies of material but also feeds the material under proper control conditions so as to avoid the gathering or "puckering" of one ply of material in the multiple layers of material. This is particularly critical when stretchable materials are being handled in the sewing process, such as knitted fabrics. If one ply of material is stretched more than another ply of material as the two plies are matched together and fed to the sewing station, it is likely that the relatively unstretched ply of material will be gathered in the finished product.
Also, in the construction of some garments, multiple plies of materials must be matched together with some of the plies being of shorter length than other plies. This requires the sewing machine operator to match some of the plies together and begin the sewing function, and part way through the sewing function to match another ply to the base ply and then continue the sewing function. Without the proper equipment, this requires the machine operator to interrupt the sewing function to match the shorter ply with the longer plies of material and then resume the sewing function.